Croatia beat England 2-1 after extra-time, will play France in World Cup final

WATCH: Coming from behind after trailing England in the beginning of the World Cup semifinal, Croatia tied up the game then scored a second point in extra-time, giving them the victory and sending them to the final.

But despite dominating much of the first half, England were unable to extend to lead, with Jesse Lingard missing a great chance to make it 2-0 after shooting wide.

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Croatia, competing in their first semifinal since the 1998 World Cup, got their equalizer in the 68th minute, with winger Ivan Perisic lunging ahead of defender Kyle Walker to poke the ball into the net.

Perisic nearly scored a second goal just minutes later, as he latched onto the ball following a defensive lapse before striking the post with his shot.

Croatia’s Ivan Perisic scores to make it 1-1.

AP Photo/Frank Augstein

The match then went to extra-time, and Mandzukic gave his team the lead 19 minutes in, running onto a headed pass from earlier goalscorer Perisic and smashing a low drive past England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.

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England had 11 minutes to try and equalize to force a penalty shootout, but they were unable to find a way past the Croatian defence.

England’s players react after losing their FIFA World Cup semi-final match to Croatia at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia, July 11, 2018.

AP Photo/Matthias Schrader

After the match, England captain Harry Kane said the defeat would “hurt for a long time,” although he reiterated that England had exceeded expectations by making it to the semi-final.

“It’s tough, we’re gutted,” he said. “We worked so hard, the fans were amazing, it was a tough game, a 50-50 game, when we look back we will think there’s stuff we could have done better.

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“We worked as hard as we could… it hurts, it hurts a lot and it will hurt for a long time. We have had a fantastic journey, further than we thought,” he added.